Elements of Surprise

Elements of Surprise PDF Author: Vera Tobin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674919570
Category : LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Elements of Surprise opens with an novel but narrow focus: how a particular cognitive bias, the "curse of knowledge," underwrites stories that rely on what it calls "well-made surprise," as seen in (for example) classic detective fiction--that is, surprises in novels, films, television, and plays that set us up to be fooled in ways we find pleasing and satisfying. But from there, the book expands its reach. At its core, "cursed" thinking underlies almost everything people write, say, and think about both other people and our own pasts. The more information we have about something, and the more experience we have with it, the harder it is to step outside that experience. What unfolds is both a fresh approach to mental heuristics and biases and an ambitious work of cognitive literary criticism. Elements of Surprise provides a new and exciting way of thinking about the mechanics of narrative, explored through thoughtful readings of classic, popular, and obscure texts.--

Elements of Surprise

Elements of Surprise PDF Author: Vera Tobin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674919570
Category : LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book

Book Description
Elements of Surprise opens with an novel but narrow focus: how a particular cognitive bias, the "curse of knowledge," underwrites stories that rely on what it calls "well-made surprise," as seen in (for example) classic detective fiction--that is, surprises in novels, films, television, and plays that set us up to be fooled in ways we find pleasing and satisfying. But from there, the book expands its reach. At its core, "cursed" thinking underlies almost everything people write, say, and think about both other people and our own pasts. The more information we have about something, and the more experience we have with it, the harder it is to step outside that experience. What unfolds is both a fresh approach to mental heuristics and biases and an ambitious work of cognitive literary criticism. Elements of Surprise provides a new and exciting way of thinking about the mechanics of narrative, explored through thoughtful readings of classic, popular, and obscure texts.--

Elements of Surprise

Elements of Surprise PDF Author: Vera Tobin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674919599
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Why do some surprises delight—the endings of Agatha Christie novels, films like The Sixth Sense, the flash awareness that Pip’s benefactor is not (and never was!) Miss Havisham? Writing at the intersection of cognitive science and narrative pleasure, Vera Tobin explains how our brains conspire with stories to produce those revelatory plots that define a “well-made surprise.” By tracing the prevalence of surprise endings in both literary fiction and popular literature and showing how they exploit our mental limits, Tobin upends two common beliefs. The first is cognitive science’s tendency to consider biases a form of moral weakness and failure. The second is certain critics’ presumption that surprise endings are mere shallow gimmicks. The latter is simply not true, and the former tells at best half the story. Tobin shows that building a good plot twist is a complex art that reflects a sophisticated understanding of the human mind. Reading classic, popular, and obscure literature alongside the latest research in cognitive science, Tobin argues that a good surprise works by taking advantage of our mental limits. Elements of Surprise describes how cognitive biases, mental shortcuts, and quirks of memory conspire with stories to produce wondrous illusions, and also provides a sophisticated how-to guide for writers. In Tobin’s hands, the interactions of plot and cognition reveal the interdependencies of surprise, sympathy, and sense-making. The result is a new appreciation of the pleasures of being had.

Structure & Surprise

Structure & Surprise PDF Author: Michael Theune
Publisher: Teachers & Writers Collaborative
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Structure & Surprise: Engaging Poetic Turns offers a road map for analyzing poetry through examination of poems' structure, rather than their forms or genres. Michael Theune's breakthrough concept encourages students, teachers, and writers to use structure as a tool to see the fundamental affinities between strikingly different kinds of poetry and radically different literary eras. The book includes examination of the mid-course turn and the elegy, as well as the ironic, concessional, emblem, and retrospective-prospective structures, among others. In addition, 14 contemporary poets provide an example of and commentary on their own work.

Nana's Big Surprise

Nana's Big Surprise PDF Author: Amada Irma Pérez
Publisher: Children's Book Press
ISBN: 9780892391905
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Amada and her family build a chicken coop, hoping that her grandmother, visiting from Mexico, will enjoy raising the chickens and be distracted from her grief at Grandfather's death.

Hedgie's Surprise

Hedgie's Surprise PDF Author: Jan Brett
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399549307
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Jan Brett's beloved character Hedgie stars in this charming story about a little Tomten who gets tired of porridge for breakfast and starts stealing Henny's eggs. But Henny wants a brood of chicks and she needs her eggs. With the help of clever Hedgie, she substitutes an acorn, a strawberry, a mushroom and finally a potato in her nest. But nothing stops that Tomten until the little hedgehog hides in Henny's nest: when the Tomten reaches in to get his morning treat, all he gets is a handful of prickles. He runs home for porridge and never comes back again! Intricate needlepoint patterns of Scandinavian designs frame the characters reacting from the borders in this beautiful picture book set in Denmark.

Surprise Me

Surprise Me PDF Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Dial Press
ISBN: 039959289X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Party Crasher and Love Your Life comes a witty and emotionally charged novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most “Sophie Kinsella keeps her finger on the cultural pulse, while leaving me giddy with laughter.”—Jojo Moyes, author of The Giver of Stars and The Last Letter from Your Lover After ten years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another sixty-eight years . . . and panic sets in. They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me—from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to sexy photo shoots—mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all. With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered. Praise for Surprise Me “Genuinely funny.”—The New York Times Book Review “A delightful take on the mixed blessings of marital longevity.”—People “Unexpected and wholly satisfying.”—USA Today “In her signature fashion, Sophie Kinsella brings a cast of quirky, funny characters to this new work. [She] keeps the laughs coming. . . . Readers will follow the story with bated breath as the couple struggle to make their marriage right after everything they thought they knew about each other proves wrong.”—Library Journal “Heartfelt . . . What at first seems like a light novel about familiar woes turns into a deeper story about trust, family, and perception.”—Publishers Weekly “Winsome and zesty, Kinsella’s latest delivers all the hallmarks her many fans have come to expect.”—Booklist “Pure fun . . . a hilariously moving look at marriage and the power of mixing things up.”—Kirkus Reviews

Handa's Surprise

Handa's Surprise PDF Author: Eileen Browne
Publisher: Walker Books Limited
ISBN: 9780744554731
Category : Animals
Languages : en
Pages : 25

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Book Description
This is a vibrant and brightly coloured picture book, set in Africa, about a girl's eventful journey with a basket of fruit.

Dazzle Ships

Dazzle Ships PDF Author: Chris Barton
Publisher: Millbrook Press TM
ISBN: 1728476259
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! A visually stunning look at innovative and eye-popping measures used to protect ships during World War I. During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship's speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than four thousand ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs. Author Chris Barton and illustrator Victo Ngai vividly bring to life this little-known story of how the unlikely and the improbable became just plain dazzling. "[A] conversational, compelling, and visually arresting story . . ."—starred, Publishers Weekly "Barton's lively text is matched by Ngai's engrossing artwork, which employs dazzle techniques throughout her inventive spreads."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books New York Public Library Best Books for Kids Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

If I Ran the Zoo

If I Ran the Zoo PDF Author: Dr. Seuss
Publisher: RH Childrens Books
ISBN: 0385379382
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Animals abound in Dr. Seuss’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book If I Ran the Zoo. Gerald McGrew imagines the myriad of animals he’d have in his very own zoo, and the adventures he’ll have to go on in order to gather them all. Featuring everything from a lion with ten feet to a Fizza-ma-Wizza-ma-Dill, this is a classic Seussian crowd-pleaser. In fact, one of Gerald’s creatures has even become a part of the language: the Nerd!

The Book of Elemental Powers (LEGO Ninjago)

The Book of Elemental Powers (LEGO Ninjago) PDF Author: Random House
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0593381351
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
Step into the action-packed world of LEGO® NINJAGO®: Spinjitzu and learn everything there is to know about mastering the art of Spinjitzu in the ancient full-color tome known as The Book of Elemental Powers! Do you have what it takes to become a Spinjitzu Master? If you think so, The Book of Elementals is packed with all the knowledge you will need to master all the elements and become a ninja hero . . . or perhaps villain! This full-color book features big glossy pages with art and exciting information about the world of LEGO NINJAGO! LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations, the Minifigure and NINJAGO are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2021 The LEGO Group. Manufactured by AMEET Sp. z o.o. under license from the LEGO Group.